


Independence, With You by My Side

by Symantra



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, F/F, Moving In Together, One Shot, Sharing a Bed, Yukina can't cook, enter the 10pm conbini run, neither of them are going to cook, sayo can kind of cook, something close to fluff but not quite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25726261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symantra/pseuds/Symantra
Summary: Roselia is on the rise to heights greater than ever before. Their skills are getting sharper, up-and-coming bands continue fighting for the spotlight, and obligations to high-school are a thing of the past.But that's neither here nor there. Sayo and Yukina are moving into a new apartment, and no amount of technical skill can save them from domestic disaster.
Relationships: Hikawa Sayo/Minato Yukina
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49
Collections: Free Story Sundays





	Independence, With You by My Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sekundi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sekundi/gifts).



The only problem with Yukina was that, for everything she was worth, she could be useless when there wasn’t a microphone in front of her.

Sayo watched as Yukina lifted a painting out of a cardboard box, studied it for a few moments, then stood up and walked over to the wall and held it up as high as she could (which wasn’t that high).

Once she realized the painting would not hang itself, she lowered her arms and looked around as if there would be a hammer and nails just lying around for her. It took her a minute to decide where to put it down, and she opted to place it atop an unopened box that—and if she had remembered to check the label on its side, she would have known—contained all the tools they needed to hang objects.

Then, she collapsed into the desk chair in the corner of the room.

“Sayo, my arms are tired.”

“Yukina, we’ve barely done anything so far.”

A heap of boxes occupied the living room. What furniture they did have had been pushed up against the walls to make space.

“I can see that,” Yukina said, a sigh accompanying her. “But I’m a songstress, not a strongwoman.”

She lifted an arm for Sayo to see, not that there was anything to see on the surface.

“I need rest after pushing that sofa,” she said, practically pleading. “Just for a bit.”

Sayo resisted the urge to sigh. “Let’s take a short break, then,” she conceded.

Thankfully, the sofa was still accessible, if accessible included climbing over the armrest and sitting cross-legged. Sayo took the time to even out her breathing and contemplate her own thoughts as Yukina shook out her arms in the chair.

Today was their first day in their new apartment. Given, they had spent most of it going back and forth hauling boxes. And they had spent the afternoon with Minato Sr. at a fast food restaurant. But the beds they had woken up in this morning weren’t the ones they would return to at the end of the day.

As Roselia was moving further and further onto the big scene, and its members were doing their best to move with it. In the case of Sayo and Yukina, that meant literally. Rinko, Ako, and Lisa were taking care of their own things, but what the two of them needed was more space. And living together made it cheaper.

From here on out, they were effectively living on their own. A prospect as humbling as it was exciting.

Sayo struggled to think about it without a slew of different interpretations invading her mind: having space for an actual practice area besides her bedroom. Having the privacy she had always desired. Finally getting to live with her girlfriend.

Sure, their belongings were still stowed away in a dozen cardboard boxes. And sure, it wasn’t a penthouse by any means. But looking around at the apartment—her apartment—made her feel so, so goddamn _accomplished_. It felt like everything she had invested into guitar and Roselia up to this point was starting to pay off.

From what she knew, Yukina felt similarly, though Sayo didn’t know how strong her feelings were. She also desired independence and considered it a vital step for herself as a musician. Sayo was glad to have her by her side.

Their relationship was comfortable. Its formation had taken place over two years of misattributed feelings, but after a miracle of coincidences where the rest of Roselia left them together in various situations a number of times, they had eventually come to mutually acknowledge their feelings.

If there was one person Sayo wanted by her side as they entered this new stage of their lives, it was Yukina. Her being matter of fact kept Sayo grounded, and her calm observations were helpful. Even her feeble attempts at humor were enough to make her smile.

Not that Sayo would ever say such sentimental things aloud.

“I’m going to continue unpacking,” Sayo said, climbing over the armrest again. “We should be able to sort most of this out in the next few hours. Let’s start by organizing the boxes based on what’s inside, then we can move them to the correct rooms and start unpacking.”

Yukina stopped massaging her wrists and stood up, squaring her shoulders.

“A wise idea, Sayo. Shall we start with this box?” She pointed to the one she had opened earlier.

Sayo shook her head. “Let’s leave that one in the corner for now. It’s full of decorations. Deciding where they go now would make more trouble for us down the line.”

“Okay.” Yukina crouched down and grabbed the sides of the box. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to lift it, but after a moment she let go and turned to Sayo. “Please help me move this. I’d become tired much less quickly if you did.”

* * *

Sayo shivered and reached for the sweater she had shrugged off a few hours ago.

“We have a thermostat, right?” she murmured, walking out of the kitchenette to check the hallway. “Ah, it’s right here.

“Yukina, I’m turning on the heat!” she called. They had separated to unpack in different rooms so they wouldn’t get in each other’s way. “Yukina?”

Sayo adjusted the temperature and walked toward the bedroom, where she had asked Yukina to unpack their personal belongings. She saw her kneeling behind a couple of boxes, surrounded by objects from their bedrooms.

“Yukina, I’ve turned on the heat,” she said again. Yukina started and turned around.

“Ah, Sayo,” she said as if she had just heard her. Sayo frowned.

“Are you alright? You seem dazed.”

“I was simply lost in thought,” Yukina told her. “More importantly, where should I put these?” She picked up a few of Sayo’s books from the ground beside her.

“Just put them on the table for the time being. I’ll figure it out later.”

Yukina nodded and put them on a pile of clothing.

“How are you doing organizing the kitchen?” she asked, putting some more books on the table.

“I’m finished with that,” Sayo answered. Their combined lack of kitchen utensils had made it easy. Yukina jerked almost imperceptibly, as if Sayo’s words had just delivered her a light shock.

“I see,” she said, hurriedly moving more books. “I’ll finish up here then.”

Sayo watched. Yukina picked up another couple of books and stood up to put it with the rest. Her stack of books was getting dangerously tall.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Yukina?” Sayo asked again, hesitating in the doorway.

“I suppose I might be a little fatigued,” was the answer she received. It was neither cold nor warm.

Sayo swallowed. “I see. In that case, you should—”

“I’m fine, so please don’t worry about—ah—!”

At that moment, Yukina turned around to speak and hit the tower of books with her shoulder. It tumbled sideways, sending books all over the table and behind the bed. She tried to stop it with her hand but only succeeded in stopping one book from hitting the ground.

“Yukina!” Sayo left the doorway and hurried over to her. “Are you alright? What were you expecting to happen, stacking them so high like that?”

“I’m sorry,” Yukina apologized, though hearing her say those words only made Sayo feel worse. “I’ll pick them up.”

“Let me help.”

“I can handle it, Sayo.”

“Please, I insist.”

“I—”

Before things could get out of hand, Yukina’s stomach interrupted with a growl.

They both froze.

“Perhaps,” Sayo suggested, drawing her lip into her mouth. “Perhaps dinner is in order?”

After a moment, Yukina nodded.

“It would seem so.”

* * *

Eased by the night air, Sayo checked her phone again to make sure they were headed in the right direction. Yukina walked by her side, quiet. Neither of them were talkative people, so Sayo knew not to think too much of her silence.

Eventually, they would reconvene. That was how things tended to work out between them. They were both reasonable, if a little headstrong.

“Turn left here,” she read off her phone. They paused at the street corner for a car to pass. “After crossing, we just head straight for two minutes and it’ll be on our left.”

They had just left their apartment block. Around here, there were several buildings offering services, as well as a small variety of restaurants and supermarkets. They passed a ramen restaurant and a sushi bar, but tonight wasn’t the night for that.

“There it is,” Yukina said as they walked into a small lot and a colorful, brightly lit Family Mart came into view.

A pair of sliding doors opened to a familiar jingle that Sayo was sure they had both heard hundreds of times. She had paid close attention to the walk here, because the convenience store was likely where they would be doing most of their shopping for the unforeseeable future.

The two of them separated at the entrance to head down different aisles. The store was mostly empty, seeing as most people had just eaten dinner around this time.

Sayo grabbed a basket and wasted no time. She started scouting out the junk food aisle, muttering about important discoveries under her breath.

“We’ll probably be back tomorrow, so I don’t need too much. One bag of these will do.

“I should get a good variety of these, since we both like sweets.” She spent a whole minute grabbing things from the Lotte selection alone.

“I’m going to need these chips to keep myself going tonight.

“A few containers of instant ramen wouldn’t hurt, either... If I recall, Yukina liked this curry flavor.”

Basket weighing a comfortable amount, she headed to the checkout counter. Seemed she had beaten Yukina there.

“I would also like a piece of fried chicken and these fries, please,” she requested, pointing into the hot foods display. The cashier nodded and went to get them.

Sayo heard someone approaching behind her. Yukina joined her at the checkout counter and set down a yakisoba bun and a pair of caramel frappes.

“Did you get one for me too?” Sayo asked, touched by her kindness. That was so like Yukina, to show her support with a gesture like this. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Oh. Sorry. These are both for me.” Yukina cleared her throat, sheepish. “I can get another one for you, if you’d like.”

Sayo nearly choked on her own saliva. “O-oh. No, it’s fine. I just didn’t realize you were planning to drink both of those.”

“I’ll need them if I’m to stay awake,” Yukina admitted.

They paid and left the store. Yukina added hot milk to her drink at a machine before joining her outside.

Sayo tore open the wrapper of her fried chicken cutlet so she could take a bite. Its warm, oily taste was delicious no matter how many times she had eaten it before. As quickly and carefully as she could, she took a second bite.

The sliding doors opened for an elderly woman to exit, treating them to the first half of the electronic jingle before it was muffled behind the closing doors.

“Would you like some?” Yukina held out her drink. Sayo accepted wordlessly, offering the cutlet in return. Washing down a bite of Family Mart chicken with a sugary drink was a guilty pleasure. If she and Yukina weren’t careful, it could easily become a habit.

After trading a few more times, Yukina cleared her throat. “I apologize for losing my composure earlier. I didn’t mean to clash with you.”

Sayo licked the salt off her lips. “Neither did I. It was out of concern that I insisted on helping you. I only meant to help, but I must have overstepped.”

They both fell silent as a middle-aged couple entered the store. After the jingle and sound of the doors closing, Yukina answered.

“I do not want to be a burden on you, Sayo. You’ve been very on task and helpful throughout the process of moving in. I feel I haven’t contributed nearly as much, even after asking for a break. I still don’t know a good way to approach the amount of unpacking we have left to do.”

Yukina walked to the trash can and discarded her empty cup. “I would have felt bad getting you to help me with a task as simple as unboxing our personal belongings.”

Sayo started seeing the logic behind Yukina’s behavior. “So that’s why you were adamant in refusing my help.”

“You could say that.” Yukina reached into her bag for her second caramel frappe. “Let me prepare this inside before we return, since we haven’t any means to do so at the apartment yet.”

Yukina disappeared inside the store. The jingle played again. Sayo waited outside and watched the street, mulling over what she had just heard.

“You haven’t got to worry about something like that,” she murmured to herself. Yukina was many things to her, but a burden wasn’t one of them.

Taking the last bite of her now-cool fried chicken, she trashed the wrapper and picked up her bag. Yukina eventually exited the store after another minute or so and returned to her side.

“Are you ready to go?” Yukina asked her.

“I am.” Sayo took a deep breath and exhaled. “When we get back to the apartment, I was thinking... It might be easier on both of us to apply ourselves to the same task rather than divide the work as we have been doing. Seeing as we’ll need to get used to living together, this could be a good exercise in cohabitation.”

Worried she had been too insistent, Sayo reached into her bag and rifled through it meaninglessly. “Of course, if you prefer to work alone, that’s perfectly fine with me as well.”

But when she looked up at Yukina, approval was written across her face.

“That is a good idea,” Yukina told her. “I would be more productive with your help. Although, I’d have liked to finish by tonight as you’d originally projected.”

“Well, that was an optimistic evaluation. It doesn’t matter if we take longer than that, as long as it means we’re comfortable in our new residence.”

Sayo offered a smile that Yukina returned.

“Now I’m ready to go,” she said.

The walk back to their block was calming. They climbed the stairs back up to their floor and entered the apartment, which was just as messy as they had left it. But it was nowhere near what it had been before they started.

Sayo dumped their haul on the table, and they sat next to each other for a while to share the yakisoba bun and potato chips. It wasn’t exactly a proper meal, but it was enough to satisfy them. While they ate, they talked for a bit about Roselia, because they kind of did that a lot.

“You mentioned at one point that Roselia wasn’t the whole reason you wanted to move out, Sayo?”

Yukina wiped some sauce off her lip. The conversation she brought up had transpired several months ago; that she still remembered came as a surprise to Sayo.

“Yes. Roselia was only part of it. I believe I also told you that I was eager to stretch my wings and live separately from my family.”

“Mhm. You are quite the independent person.” A thoughtful hum accompanied Yukina’s words. “Is it strenuous living with three other people? I’ve always enjoyed relative solidarity even from my parents, so I can’t imagine how you felt.”

“It gets tiring,” Sayo conceded. “I wouldn’t call it strenuous though. Either way, living with you will be much more peaceful in comparison.”

A crinkle as Yukina reached for the potato chips.

Sayo coughed into a closed hand. “I suspect,” she mumbled, “that I may miss Hina from time to time. However, it’s only natural to miss things that are familiar to us.”

Yukina smiled and said nothing. Sayo felt her face warm and reached for a bottle of water.

After a few more minutes, they finished off the bun and chips. Yukina chugged the rest of her coffee, and they opened a few snacks and relaxed for a bit before getting back to work.

It took a few hours, but eventually their bedroom floor was free of clutter. The number of empty boxes in the apartment finally outnumbered the ones that weren’t. They stood in the doorway of their new bedroom, admiring the way it looked now that their stuff was properly set up.

“Good work,” Sayo said.

“Not bad,” Yukina agreed.

Their new bedroom was bigger than Sayo’s old one in her parent’s house. Most of the available table space was taken up by their combined collection of books and other things. Sayo’s guitar case leaned up against the wall, and Yukina’s huge stereo rested on the shelf next to it. A double bed occupied the center of the room.

Their apartment actually had two bedrooms, but they had decided it would be a better idea to share a bedroom and use the other as a makeshift sound room. The majority of the unpacked boxes actually contained things precisely for that purpose: soundproofing for the walls, sound equipment, and so on.

Of course, that meant they would be sharing a bed. Neither of them had brought attention to the fact, because it didn’t bother either of them in the slightest. Sharing a bed was more practical than it was romantic, anyway.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Sayo said, rummaging through the closet for her clothing. “I’m relatively quick, so you won’t have to wait long.”

“Alright.”

Sayo locked the door out of habit and turned around, examining the bathroom now that she was actually about to use it. It was a bit small, but it was comfortable.

Seeing her shower supplies next to Yukina’s made her seem spartan; not that Yukina had a lot, but Sayo’s supplies consisted of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, body soap, and a comb. Yukina owned a shower cap, hair toner, exfoliants...

“I can see Imai-san’s influence on her,” Sayo murmured, peering at some of the labels.

The water heated quickly, and in under half an hour she was done. When she came out, she walked through the empty bedroom and peeked into the main room.

Yukina waited at the tabble with her clothes and towel in a pile. She saw Sayo and retracted her hand from a box of chocolate almonds.

“Ah, Sayo. I was just... snacking.”

“Nothing wrong with that. I hung my towel on the last hook behind the door,” Sayo told her. “The temperature changes quite quickly, so be careful. And you can change the pressure by rotating the showerhead.” Yukina nodded along. “By the way, do you like those?”

Yukina stopped nodding and hesitated for a second. “They’re alright,” she said, grabbing her things and slipping around Sayo to the bedroom.

Sayo laughed softly and took the chair Yukina had been sitting in. She reached for the almonds herself, popping one into her mouth and crunching through its chocolate shell.

The fact that Yukina still attempted to mask her affinity for sweets was quite amusing. Sayo wasn’t complaining, though. Any chance to catch her bashful side was a precious one.

The shower turned on in the bathroom. Sayo kept munching on the almonds, looking around the apartment and drinking in reality. No parents. No Hina. No uniforms or student council armband. Just herself and Yukina, two musicians dead-set on being the best in the world, as well as ¥3600 of convenience store snacks.

What a dream.

Sayo stood and walked over to the bed. She sat down at the foot and let herself fall backward onto it. Her damp hair fanned out beneath her. She could probably fall asleep just like this. Probably best not to lie here too long, or else she would... she would...

“Sayo?”

“Hawah!”

Her eyes shot open. She sat up in time to see Yukina leaving the bathroom in her nightgown.

“Were you sleeping? Your eyes were closed.”

“N-no. I just dozed off,” Sayo said. Her face started getting warm again. Maybe she was more tired than she felt.

Yukina smiled. “I see. We’ve had a long day, so perhaps we should turn in soon.”

“You may be right. I’ll go lock the door.”

Sayo got off the bed and strode out of the room to bolt the door. She closed her eyes for a few seconds in the midnight gloom, waiting for her face to cool down. Why was she even embarrassed? They were sleeping together anyway, and Yukina wasn’t making fun of her.

Maybe she really was a bit shy about sleeping next to her girlfriend for the first time.

“Oh well,” Sayo sighed.

When she returned, Yukina was already settling into bed, a pillow behind her back. She leaned over and switched on a bedside lamp.

“I’d like to read for a bit, if that’s okay with you,” she said. “Will you be able to sleep with this lamp on?”

Sayo nodded and turned off the lights. The lamp cast an orange glow across Yukina, her book, and the pillow next to her. She lifted the covers and got into bed with her.

“Have you slept in the same bed as anyone before, Sayo?” Yukina asked casually.

Sayo spent a moment wondering if there was a hidden intent behind the question. She decided there wasn’t. “When I was younger, I used to share beds with Hina from time to time.”

Yukina hummed. “I see. Has there been anyone else besides her?”

“Other than that, no.” Sayo watched the ceiling. “What about you?”

Yukina opened her book, saying, “I haven’t either.”

Sayo turned her head in surprise. “Not even with Lisa?”

“Not once. Whenever we’d have sleepovers, she would insist we use sleeping bags.”

Sayo had expected her to answer the opposite, considering how long she had been friends with Lisa. She put away her disbelief and lay down on the pillow. It actually felt a bit nice, that she was the only person to ever share a bed with her like this.

The two of them had never stayed a full night in the same bed, lights out. That wasn’t to say they weren’t intimate; they were. They were just more reserved than other couples, to say the least.

Beside her, Yukina turned a page and continued reading. She was close enough to reach out and touch. Was there some kind of etiquette to sleeping with your loved one? Were you supposed to offer them a hug before bed or something?

It would be rude to reach out and touch her out of nowhere, so Sayo folded her arms behind her head and kept her hands to herself.

If it was something Yukina wanted, perhaps someday they would share a hug before bed, or a cuddle, or something of that sort. Sayo closed her eyes, hoping her face wouldn’t be too visibly warm in this light.

Whatever heights Yukina sought in their relationship, Sayo would seek with her. But she was also content just like this, sleeping in the same bed with a comfortable silence surrounding the both of them. Her heart wasn’t racing, and her nerves weren’t firing. All she knew at that moment was peace.

She definitely liked the way things were now. Lying here with Yukina beside her was quite nice.

Not bad... at all...


End file.
